Louisiana, 2026

Flash Flooding in Louisiana, April 30, 2026

April 30, 2026 · NWS LIX · 2 events in 1 county or zone

A cold front sagged southward into the region on April 30th, becoming positioned near the Interstate 10 and 12 corridors by the afternoon. A moist and unstable airmass remained in place from the previous day while a passing upper level disturbance helped showers and thunderstorms redevelop and intensify during the late afternoon.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LIX wrote it up.

A cold front sagged southward into the region on April 30th, becoming positioned near the Interstate 10 and 12 corridors by the afternoon. A moist and unstable airmass remained in place from the previous day while a passing upper level disturbance helped showers and thunderstorms redevelop and intensify during the late afternoon. The strongest storms produced heavy rainfall over portions of the Baton Rouge metro area in a short period of time. The combination of slow-moving storms, locally heavy downpours, and urban drainage impacts led to flash flooding in parts of the metro area.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS New Orleans, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 30, 12:19 PM CST, 3 hours 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 12:19 PM CST, 3 hours 51 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 30, 11:39 AM CST, 4 hours 31 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Apr 30, 11:42 AM CST, 4 hours 28 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Apr 30, 3:22 PM CST, 48 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Apr 30, 3:31 PM CST, 39 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Apr 30, 3:32 PM CST, 38 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Apr 30, 3:57 PM CST, 13 minutes before
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The radar

The Hammond radar (KHDC), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:08 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, East Baton Rouge

When
April 30, 4:10 PM CST to 6:10 PM CST
Where
East Baton Rouge County, 1.79 mi W of Magnolia Woods to 1.57 mi E of University
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
30.420, -91.150

Video of flooding on I-10 near the Acadian Thruway exit.

Flash Flood, East Baton Rouge

When
April 30, 4:15 PM CST to 6:15 PM CST
Where
East Baton Rouge County, 1.5 mi SSE of Jones Creek to 1.1 mi NE of Woodlawn
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
30.400, -91.010

Picture of flooded residential street in the Shenandoah neighborhood in Baton Rouge.

What these are

Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Louisiana in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, April 2026

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1334908, 1334909.